Ramblin'
by Muffinzelda
Summary: A non-linear approach to Ramblin' Boy (with a brief detour into Intelligent Design) as a series of vignettes. Memory after the fact is a complicated thing, and as Robbie and Laura look back on that magical time when their love was finally requited, they may not care in what order things really happened. Knowledge of the episode is a pre-requisite.
1. Riparian Reflections

Disclaimer: This story is for fan purposes only. The characters and storyline are property of their respective owners (not me!) and are used here without permission.

* * *

Author note: When I write, it is very stream-of-consciousness. Certain scenes are connected in my mind, even if it does not reflect the proper sequential order of the actual episode. (So no complaining- hey, that's not what happened next!) I tried not to re-write what was so brilliantly done by Lucy Gannon but to offer interpretation of and extrapolation from a few of the episode's charming quirks. Special appreciation also goes to those fanficcers who have beautifully rendered this episode before me. As Noenigma said, it's inevitable that sooner or later we'll all have to try our hand at it.

* * *

Act I- Riparian reflections

Laura Hobson chose a dress with a tulip print, just long enough that she could still ride her bicycle decently. The dress and the bike sent the message that she was ready to have fun, but she was clearly trying too hard to be excited about this date. The guy she was waiting for works on television scripts*. Whodunnits, he'd said. He was interested in her work as a pathologist; surely she must have some insights on murder to share. _You don't know the half of it,_ she thought. She sighed because she knew that she didn't want the made-for-telly version; she wanted the real thing. She wanted the detective down the path staring at the river.

Laura got her wish, albeit in a different venue, a bit later when Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis asked if she wanted to meet for sandwiches at a sidewalk café. She was happy he'd invited her out, even if she had to tell herself that he was taking her to lunch only as a proxy for his sergeant off on holiday. If Lewis was trying to impress her by saying that he was so much more fun than Sergeant Hathaway, he wouldn't do it by talking while he was chewing. But that's just it; he wasn't trying to impress her (unlike the television writer). Robbie was merely being comfortable around her, which apparently included chewing with his mouth open.

She decided to stir the pot a bit and tell him that she'd seen him staring at the river Friday night. _He'll ask why I didn't say hello when I saw him all alone. _But he didn't ask. It then dawned on her that Lewis already knew about her date. It was entirely possible that if she'd seen him, he'd seen her too. _Damn it, he knows._ And how did he respond? Not jealously like he did with Franco, but with a subtle reminder that he depended on her. His phone rang with a lead on the identity of the corpse du jour, and he abruptly left, sticking Laura with the bill. _What's this, Robbie? _She didn't mind paying for the sandwiches, but she was stunned nonetheless. Chivalrous Lewis always paid- coffee, dinner, pints- and even if he'd had to make a work-related departure he'd be sure to take care of the bill first. _He really does miss having a sergeant to take advantage of… or, dare I even think it… he's finally willing to let me take care of him. _Robbie had been depending on her for years now whenever he needed moral support- especially if he and Hathaway had had a tiff, but this was different. In making her pay for lunch, he was asking her to take care of him physically. In not so many words, he was saying, "I'm yours" to feed… and love.

* * *

Days later, Robbie called and said he wanted to see her again. No other reason was offered. Laura didn't know that he had just left Louise Cornish's house and was determined to prove that a person who'd lost a partner could love again. Seeing Louise abandon all hope after her husband left was like seeing his former self- before he had given up the life of a martyr and surrendered to Laura's love.

They were staring at the river together this time; not by the river where she'd had that date or where that boat went up in flames, but on a quiet part of the stream, on a bridge. He asked if she wanted to take a bike ride some night after work, and his request gave her pause. _Robbie Lewis on a bicycle? _That seemed far too random for him to suggest out of the blue. It was the second confirmation that the stealthy detective had known of her date with the television writer. Robbie'd seen her arrive on bike wanted to prove that he was every bit as able. "A ride?" she uttered.

Robbie saw the wheels turning in her mind and assumed she'd thought the suggestion was more akin to rumpy-pumpy than to cycling. It's a good opportunity for some teasing, and he wrapped his arms around her, locking his hands at the small of her back as they laughed together. As their laughter ebbed, he realized that he didn't want to let her go. He kissed the top of her head first, and then she looked up at him expectantly. Their lips joined, and then tongues; it was not their first kiss, but rather the first time that they let themselves go at it in earnest. There was no one there to disturb them, and the swans floated on by.

* * *

*Author note 2: My theory is that the man Laura was on a date with must have been someone involved in the production of Lewis because he was uncredited, yet had ample screen time to wave good-bye. And as we know, in Intelligent Design, frequent show writer Stephen Churchett played the first victim. PM me if you know who Laura's date is in real life!


	2. I could murder a curry

Act II- I could murder a curry (and other things Robbie Lewis could do)

Later that year, in the mortuary, the fledgling couple was trying- and failing- to perform a post-mortem on Richard Seager. But the Inspector was far too distracted planning his future as the Doctor's companion to concentrate on the corpse. He sounded her out about his retirement. "It's about bloody time!" she exclaimed. (It was about bloody time that Laura Hobson told Robbie Lewis it was about bloody time!)

"You mean you wouldn't mind being with a pensioner?" Robbie asked. Laura said something about wanting a house-husband. But her selfish words were a front for her own vulnerability- and his. Yes, she wanted Robbie to rub her back and fix her supper, but more importantly she wanted HIM- safe and sound- retired and out of harm's way.

She shivered as she remembered the first time Robbie held her hand. Laura was twice shaken by the gesture: first in surprise that he finally had the courage to take her hand, second that the whimsy of it was gone in an instant, gone up in thick black smoke. For as soon as he'd reassured her about their being out of step, he'd run into a burning houseboat to save a person of interest to their case. She could barely remember calling 999 or Robbie rescuing the girl from the burning boat or anything else other than the beating of her heart.

"Robbie…" she whispered tearfully as she tried to eke out a moment with him amidst the assembled emergency teams. He knew that look all too well.

"Hush, love. Sorry about our curry. I promise I'll make it up to you; I'll take you out for a nice dinner just the two of us." The words were so natural that he'd almost added that they'd get a babysitter for the kids; it wasn't lost on either of them that that was what he would say to his wife in such a circumstance. The words may have come out like clockwork, but that didn't make them any less sincere. He was thinking about the woman he loved. Then he was gone with the flurry of sirens and lights. Laura's reaction was exactly what Val's would have been: _He thinks I'm upset about the curry?! _

* * *

True to his word, Robbie rescheduled dinner, and not just a curry. He insisted on the Randolph. _My God, he is serious this time. _ But then again, that's what she'd thought about the Faerie Queene. Cautiously optimistic, she chose a charcoal colored suit with a red print in the matching skirt- it was a striking combination, though the charcoal was a softer choice than black. She arrived early and had a seat at the bar. The bartender nodded to her when Robbie arrived, "your date's here, miss." How did he know who her date was? Laura turned around on her stool, took one look at Robbie in a charcoal suit with red tie and knew that they were a matched pair. She basked in satisfaction at the sight.

Laura brought up the change in him the only way she knew how: "are you OK?" And he assured her he was, so she needed to dig deeper. "Is all this funeral stuff getting to you? Reminding you of Val?" There was no particular reason that this case would remind him of Val more than any other. The truth is that it was Laura herself who'd been thinking about Val since the boat incident, thinking about how Val must have felt over a lifetime of Robbie putting himself in harm's way. The last thing that Laura had expected him to say was that Val was slipping away… and he was turning the page on a new chapter.

It wasn't like Robbie to speak in metaphors, so she knew that he had carefully chosen his words. "Right." She said, smiling slightly, but somewhat noncommittally, as she was still not sure what to make of it. She'd wanted to hear this for so long that she couldn't believe it was actually happening. When they finally got a table, her head was swimming so much so that she had a hard time reading the menu. Robbie held her hand again as they waited for their meals, seeing each other with new eyes. She couldn't even remember what she'd ordered! They chatted amiably, though not about their rapidly mutating relationship. Finally he asked her to satisfy his curiosity.

"What do you think, Laura? Am I too old to start over again? You said me havin' fun was in the distant past and all…"

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "You seem pretty spry to me, hopping over that fence and heroically saving the damsel in distress…" suddenly she winced and closed her eyes, remembering the boat explosion.

"What is it, Laura?"

"Promise me you'll never do that again!"

"Hop over a fence?"

"No, run into an exploding boat! Or building, or car, or anything else on fire!"

He laughed. "I promise, love."

When he walked her to her car after dinner, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek as he had on many occasions, though he dared to linger, slightly nuzzling his nose to her cheek and taking in the scent of her perfume.

"Robbie… it's a new chapter, right?" She took the lapels of his suit in her hands and centered him against her. He leaned in again, and this time kissed her properly on the lips. He stepped back and smiled. She'd never seen him smile so brightly, not even in the days of Morse.

"Think about it, Laura. Us, together?"

"I've been thinking about it for years, Robbie."

"Good. I'd hate to think we were rushing things." He gave her one more gentle kiss and asked, "can I see you tomorrow?" She nodded, unable to speak. He left her breathless, unable to think about anything else.

At two in the morning she was still tossing and turning, thinking about him. Finally, she gave in to her insatiable thoughts and reached for her mobile. "Lewis" he answered still half-asleep, as she knew he would.

"I can't sleep, Robbie."

"What's wrong, pet?" His voice was full of concern. "I hope I didn't upset you tonight."

"No, no, no… tonight was so wonderful that I'm afraid to go to sleep. Tomorrow I might wake up to find you've changed your mind."

"No, Laura," he mumbled into the phone at the same time as she continued to ramble.

"Remember when we were going to see the Faerie Queene? And then it didn't happen. We said we would reschedule, and we never did… I didn't press you because I knew how nervous the whole thing was making you. But it's always been one step forward and two steps back. This time, though, when I see you at work I won't be able to pretend that you didn't hold my hand and kiss me."

"You've got to, Laura. At work we are going to pretend that nothing's changed. But that's all it'll be- pretending for the sake of being professional. Ach, love, I'm sorry we've had so many false starts. But I'm finally ready to see where this goes. I mean that."

"Really?"

"Yes. And as much as I want to drive over there and prove that to you, we've got a case on. I promise I'll come see you in the lab the first chance I get tomorrow, and I'll bring you a big coffee to help you get through the day. Try not to lose any more sleep over it."

With his simple reassurance, her tone changed from anxious to eager. "In that case, tomorrow can't come soon enough. But I have to warn you, I'm terrible at pretending."

"You can do it, Laura. Close your eyes, now. No more looking back. Dream about the future."

* * *

Her heart fluttered when she heard him rap his knuckles on the glass. Though she avoided his gaze as he handed her a coffee, she was comforted and relieved by his presence- a promise fulfilled. _He's really here. Not for lab results or a PM- for no other reason than to be with me. _She made small talk about the case, trying her best to pretend that she didn't want to be lost in his embrace. Just in time, James Hathaway rang from Croatia. Robbie put him on speakerphone. Ever the provocateur, Laura put on her best mock-maternal voice to ask James if he was having a good time- knowing full well that he wanted to tell Robbie to get stuffed for ruining his holiday. Teasing James was only one of Robbie and Laura's shared interests…

Robbie and Laura did a good job acting professional that day, but as their romance blossomed, post-mortems became trickier… like the day they'd autopsied one Richard Seager. "It's all a bit odd now, you, and me, and…" He indicated the corpse. It was Laura who had to remind Robbie that they had to work together when he was so in love with her that he was unable to hear her post-mortem report. He reckoned it might be best to retire. Robbie didn't mind her suggestion that he have her supper on the table when she came home from work. He was craving stability and a sense of normalcy with her, even if it meant that he was to step into the support role. Robbie really hoped that Laura likes egg and chips.


	3. Modus Tollens: Proof by Denial

Act III- Modus Tollens: Proof by denial

How could Laura have known that Robbie'd been looking at a picture of his late wife when she barged into his office and announced, "I'm not going to make you a happy man."? She'd concluded that Dr. Whitby's suicide was actually murder, but she couldn't find any bruising on the victim as poison had complicated rigor mortis. Robbie counted on her though, and she would never let him down. He didn't even have to ask; he compelled her to try harder with nothing but his beseeching eyes.

"All right, I'll have another look," she said, referring to the bruising. But with such a sweet gaze, was Robbie really asking her to try again to find the bruising- or to make him a happy man?

That was a question to settle another time, though, as they both needed to hustle off. It was telling, however, that Laura continued to finish Robbie's thought for him with the phrase, "hurry it up."

* * *

Dr Hobson liked solving problems, though she usually relied on research and scientific evidence whereas Lewis was an intuitive detective. But as much as he trusted his gut, he was ever Morse' sergeant at heart, and he still enjoyed a good logic puzzle.

Laura did return to the mortuary and put in the extra effort to discover the method of murder. "Why don't we try to meet halfway?" Robbie suggested when she called with the news.

This time when she met Robbie Lewis, Laura strode up to him confidently and didn't make any blunt statements; rather she relied on a bold demonstration. She took him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye, applying pressure with her hands before smoothing out his suit. It was a bit absurd: the petite yet powerful Hobson trying to demonstrate in front of the taller Lewis how one might have killed Whitby- who would have been sitting down, not to mention killed from behind. As they both recognized that she just wanted an excuse to touch him, she released him and they slightly awkwardly looked at each other. He held out his arm inviting her to continue walking, without touching. Her murder demonstration may have been botched, but Robbie re-framed it as a logic problem whose solution excited him. If not P then not Q. Given Q. Then P!

If I can't find the bruising on Dr Whitby, then I'm not going to make you a happy man.

I found the bruising on Dr Whitby.

Therefore, I'm going to make you a happy man. (!)

Robbie chuckled inside at his fuzzy logic and hoped maybe there was something to it after all. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it might be a good idea to just hold her hand and see what would happen.

* * *

After the case was closed a few days later, Laura approached Robbie from across a crowded pub. She strode confidently towards him just as she had when they met halfway to explain the murder of Marcus Whitby. But instead of placing her hands solidly on his shoulders, she threw them around his neck and gave him an ardent kiss. They came up for air, and then the once-hesitant Lewis responded in kind. They were still nose-to-nose when Lewis turned slightly to his right and nodded, indicating that they had an audience.

Laura was shocked to find Jean Innocent and James Hathaway watching- though not as shocked as they were at the sight. She and Robbie excused themselves to the bar to get drinks.

"I told you I'm rubbish at pretending! Let's just go. Take me home, Robbie."

"Oh no, this is a fine mess you've gotten us into. Best to face the music, love. You think these two are going to be tough? They're just practice."

"Practice for what?"

"For telling me kids, of course!" Suddenly, Laura saw the big picture; her world was expanding. She was familiar with answering questions from Hathaway and Innocent, and figuring out how to explain this new development to them first became a welcome idea to Laura.

Drinks in hand, Robbie and Laura approached the table where James and their boss were seated. "Let's try this again, shall we?" Robbie acted as if he was introducing everyone for the first time. "I'd like to introduce you to me girlfriend, Laura Hobson. This is my boss, Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent; and me sergeant, James Hathaway."

James smirked mockingly while Innocent was all too happy to play along. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance; wherever did you two meet?"

Laura looked at Robbie and answered, "Blenheim, many years ago."

Innocent was not satisfied, "Seriously though, how long have you been together?"

"It just happened," Robbie offered casually.

Hathaway joined in. "So we're supposed to believe that after years and years of pints and subtlety, Laura cool-as-a-cucumber Hobson just walked into a pub and threw herself at you?"

"Yeah." Robbie said with a smirk of his own.

"That was no awkward first kiss." Innocent observed.

"Yeah, this is a different kind of awkward all together." Hathaway said under his breath, though everyone heard him.

Laura responded snidely, "Is your sunburn painful, James?"

"I'm not really sunburned; I'm just embarrassed for a nice girl like you to be caught kissing that oompa-loompa." James gestured towards Robbie, who was laughing at the whole exchange.

"Ooh, someone clearly thinks he's still on leave!"

"Children, please." Innocent interrupted. "I want details! Why now, Robbie? How did you two get together?"

Robbie sighed happily. "It was time, ma'am. I asked Laura to dinner and told her I was ready. Fortunately, so was she."

"I'm beyond thrilled for you both!" Innocent gushed- and she was not the gushing type.

"Cheers, sir." James lifted his glass in a toast and the four clinked their glasses.

Leaving the White Horse hand in hand, Robbie and Laura felt like they were floating. "That wasn't so bad. What's next, Inspector?" She whispered up at him as they walked in locked step with each other. Laura suspected that Robbie was going to take her straight home and call his kids, emboldened by James' and Innocent's support.

His answer surprised her, for Robbie Lewis, champion of taking his time and doing things right said, "wanna get blitzed and fool around, love?" There was nothing that Laura Hobson wanted more; she was going to make him a very happy man.


End file.
